Help

Help

Welcome to MobiTog

MobiTog is a community dedicated to mobile photography: Images created and edited entirely on mobile phones or tablets using iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian, or other systems.

On MobiTog, you can share images, comments, critiques, and information in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere with members from around the world. All members are welcome (and encouraged!) to post images, add comments, ask for help and critiques, and start new forum discussion threads.

Please note:

Be courteous in your comments and critiques.

All images must be created and edited entirely on mobile devices.

You must have the right to post any image you upload, either because it is yours, because you have permission from the rights holder, or because it is in the public domain.

See the Help section for details of the Terms of Service and MobiTog's use of cookies.

The MobiTog web site is supported through donations from members, income from small ads, and the hard work of its volunteer staff. If you enjoy your time on MobiTog, please consider making a donation through the Donation box at the bottom of the righthand column on the home page.

Use your web browser or the MobiTog app

You can browse and post on MobiTog using any modern web browser on a desktop computer or mobile device. The web site does not require Flash, Silverlight, Java, or other plug-ins. It does use JavaScript for some convenience features but is fully functional without it.

You can also use the MobiTog mobile app for iOS or Android to access all parts of the site and post images and comments. The app provides a different look for MobiTog that you may find you like. Give it a try!

This version of the help guide covers the web browser view of MobiTog. There will be a separate help guide for using MobiTog with the app: The instructions will be different!

To become a member, click the Log in or Sign up link at the top right corner of the home page.

When you click Sign up, you'll be taken to the registration page to set your password and fill in other information.

Your screen name, email address, password, and date of birth are required; other information is optional. When you're done, click the checkboxes for I'm not a robot and I agree to the terms and rules, and then click Sign up. If you want to use two-factor authentication after you sign up, go to the two-factor setup page.

Once you've registered as a member, received your confirmation by email, and logged in, you'll see your chosen screen name at the top right of the MobiTog home page.

From the account settings page, you can set email and alert preferences, a profile image (avatar), status message, signature, Facebook and Twitter accounts, privacy options, and more.

For the interest and enjoyment of other members, please pin your location on the MobiTog member map.

The MobiTog home page

All the action starts on the MobiTog home page:

MobiTog top menu bars detail

The links in the top menu bars appear on every MobiTog page to help you navigate around the web site:

See who's online now

The Members Online box on the home page lists any currently connected members, with most recently active person on the left. Guests are humans not logged in as members. Robots are mainly search engines that are indexing the site.

Click Search Forums in the orange menu bar on any page to jump to the main Search page:

On the Search page, the Search Everything tab provides the widest search. You can narrow your search by specifying multiple keywords (separated by spaces), member names, a newer-than date, and a specific forum. Note that the Search Photos tab searches only in the Gallery, not in discussion threads.

If you'd prefer to use the BBCode editor to enter BBCode formatting directly, click the wrench icon at the right end of the toolbar. The MobiTog Help section includes a reference page for BBCode formatting.

If you have linked your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts in your personal settings, you can click the Facebook and Twitter checkboxes to have your post automatically cross-posted.

Reply to a Post in a Thread

To reply to an existing post, click the Reply button at the bottom right of the post.

The entire post you're replying to will be quoted in the composition box.

You can edit the text between the QUOTE tags, but don't change any text between the open and close brackets [] of the tags. That will mess up the formatting when you post the message.

If you want to quote only a portion of a post, select that text on your screen. The selected text will be highlighted and a Reply button will appear directly below the selection.

Click Reply, and the selected text will be quoted in the composition box.

Add multiple quotes to a post

You can quote multiple messages (or parts of messages) by using the +Quote button that is found next to the Reply button.

To assemble multiple quotes:

Go to the first message you want to quote.

Click the +Quote button at the bottom right of the message to quote the whole message, or select part of the message and click the +Quote button that pops up.

The words "Message added to multi-quote" will appear briefly at the top of your screen.

Repeat for each message you wish to quote.

When you have collected all the quotes, go to the composition box at the bottom of the page, which will now have an Insert Quotes button visible at the bottom left.

Click the Insert Quotes button, and the Multi-quote review box will appear. Here you can verify which quotes you have selected, remove any you decide you don't want, and rearrange the order if necessary.

When you're ready, click the Quote These Messages button to insert the quotes in the composition box.

Add emoji to a post

Along with text, you can also add emoji to any post you make. The MobiTog emoji shown at the bottom of the text composition box will be seen by anyone viewing your post, regardless of whether they're using the MobiTog app or a web browser on a mobile device or a computer.

Caution: You can insert other emoji, such as those available through the iPhone or Android operating system, but they may not be seen by all readers (who may see a blank square instead).

Add an image to a post

To add an image to a post, click the Upload a File button in the text composition box. The Upload box appears so that you can choose a file:

Once you've selected and uploaded a file, its thumbnail appears at the bottom of the composition box. From there, you can select whether to have the image appear in your post as a reduced Thumbnail or as a Full Image (larger).

When displayed to a viewer, a Full Image is automatically resized to fit the message width. In practice, images of 1000 pixels on the longest side are fine for online viewing.

If you have posted an image on another site (such as Flickr), you can link to that image using the Embed Photo button:

Note: You must enter the link to the video itself, not the link to the web page the video is on. On YouTube, for example, you must go to Creator Studio in your account, select the video you want to embed, and then click the Share icon on the video to get the proper link for embedding.

Any registered member can create a new discussion thread for posting images and comments. To start:

Go to the list of forums, and select a forum that's appropriate for the thread you want to start (for example, Appstracts for abstract images, People for portraits, or the catch-all Everything Else).

Next, check the recent threads in that forum to see if a suitable one already exists.

If not, then click the Post New Thread button on the right side of the menu bar to jump to the Create Thread page:

Some tips for filling out the Create Thread form:

Choose a meaningful title for your thread, something that will tell people who may be interested what the thread is about. "New Pics" probably won't attract much attention; "Loch Ness Monster" probably will.

In the text of your first post, give a little information on what people will find in the thread.

If you would like other people to add images to the thread, say so in the first post.

Tags are optional, but well-chosen tags can help interested people find your thread. You can only set tags for the thread as a whole, not for individual posts within the thread.

Make sure the Watch this thread box is checked if you want to receive alerts of new messages when you're on the MobiTog web site.

Check the and receive email notifications box if you also want to receive alerts by email for this thread.

Check the Facebook and/or Twitter boxes if you have linked your accounts there to MobiTog and you want your message cross-posted.

Before you click the Create Thread button to make your thread live, proofread what you've done carefully. Once you have created the thread, you will not be able to change the title or the tags on your own; you'll have to ask the MobiTog staff to do it for you.

You can edit any post of your own for 24 hours after first posting. Click Edit button at the bottom of the post, next to date and time. The text of the post appears in a popup window with all the usual editing controls available.

Note: You can edit or delete any content within your own post, but you can't delete the post itself. If you believe your post needs to be deleted, contact one of the MobiTog staff.

Get Alerts for new posts

You can set a Watch on any thread or any forum. After you do, you will receive Alerts for any new posts in that thread or forum. By default, a Watch is automatically set on any thread you post in and any thread you create.

To set a watch, click the Watch button at the top right side of any page of the thread or forum. Once you are watching, the button will change to Unwatch so that you can click it again to cancel your Watch.

Your Alerts appear in the Alerts menu on the right side of the topmost menu on any MobiTog page. Click on the menu to display the list of recent Alerts. If new Alerts have arrived since the last time you accessed the menu, the number of unread Alerts appears next to the menu.

Get Alerts by email

You can also choose to receive Alerts by email. When you click to Watch a thread or forum, you will be given the option to receive email for those alerts. In addition, you can set comprehensive global preferences for Alerts in your Account Settings. This page includes options for many more Alerts, including Alerts for Galleries, Resources, and your profile page.

MobiTog also offers a number of contests and group projects called Challenges, some of which are weekly and some of which run longer. For example:

MobiMono: Weekly challenge for monochrome images only

MobiColour: Weekly challenge for color images only

Levels of Abstraction: Irregularly scheduled challenge for abstract images on a set theme

Elements of Surprise: Irregularly scheduled group project, adding elements to a starting image one person/one element at a time

Time Stamp: Weekly group project for photos taken at 2:00 pm local time on Saturday

The opening message in each Challenge thread will give the rules for that specific Challenge, which may or may not include a theme. In many cases, the winner of a Challenge becomes a judge for the next Challenge in that series.

Note: The next Challenge in a regular series like MobiMono will start a new thread. Look for it!

Browse Resources for tutorials

In the Resources section, you can browse the list of member-created online tutorials for various apps and techniques, including iColorama, Stackables, and iOrnament.